


Like the touch of morning mist

by hyacinth_lea



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, And yeah hakyeon being soft, But actually a college student too, Eventual Romance, M/M, Sailor!Hongbin, fated encounters, mermaid!Hakyeon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22985539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyacinth_lea/pseuds/hyacinth_lea
Summary: There were times he felt as if the sea sang to him, soft tune that would ease his heart and make him forget of every single worry it had ever held in it. It is perfection until one day, Hongbin finds himself feeling strangely isolated, as if the ocean had casted him away for some reason.And there is a sudden movement that hits his boat and does nothing to calm his now erratic heart that is fearing for the worst.
Relationships: Cha Hakyeon | N/Lee Hongbin
Comments: 11
Kudos: 23





	Like the touch of morning mist

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I wrote this back in September 2018 so the style may differ to how I wrote now yet I still hope it's somehow enjoyable! I wanted to share it and I hope you find at least soft and that it makes your day somehow. 
> 
> I really have plans to eventually get back to this and fulfill my full vision, which is sorta bigger than this. So I may remix this work into that hopefully sooner than later. I want for it to reach that level my vision has since this is abridged of sorts since it was posted for a challenge. Still. Hope it's a nice read ♡

Every morning he is met with this sight, and he wouldn’t change it for the world; the breathtaking view of the sea at dawn while it greets him good morning is a sight that Hongbin has always been entranced by and which he is happy and has nothing but gratitude for. He takes in the view every single day as the ways come and go in harmony, engraving it as if it was but a fleeting moment in time, as if it were going to disappear into nothing right in front of him. He always wants to recall every single movement the waves make as he inhales the chilly invigorating smell of the sea breeze that fills his nostrils with such purity that makes him wholeheartedly that he couldn’t feel more alive.

It is Hongbin’s daily routine, one that he has got used to –and knows by heart for he does it every single morning since he turned eighteen years of age—even with the disapproving words of his parents who were questioning every single one of his life decisions when he had come to them to say, “I am going to be a sailor, an actual one—and no I’m not moving to the city ever again”, needless say, he wasn’t met with the best response even if his parents gave in, however, with the promise he studied something in between.

Hongbin knew that making said promise would take a lot away from the ideal life he wanted to live, but also was aware that he needed those studies—even when he was questioned as to why he was picking up Literature out of all things.

Yet to the youth, all was okay—as long as he was doing okay and his brother outstandingly in his parents’ eyes then all was okay. It didn’t matter if his decisions were questioned so long as he wasn’t the one questioning them.

Hongbin’s romantic side had always been but a clash with his more rational and skeptical one, yet the only particular thing that he couldn’t make reason out of was just how deeply attached he felt to the eternal expanses of blue that blessed him every morning and welcomed him like he was made to be there.

There were times he felt as if the sea sang to him, soft tune that would ease his heart and make him forget of every single worry it had ever held in it. Entrancing melody that would make him rest in his vessel before getting to work and harvest from the sea. It was a melody that had accompanied him for 5 years and it was the best company he could ever wish for despite not knowing where it came from nor to whom it belonged. It was one of the best things that made him feel like he wasn’t alone, that singing and the sea and the marine mist that embraced him was perfection.

It is perfection until one day, Hongbin finds himself feeling strangely isolated, as if the ocean had casted him away for some reason. The sky seems darker than usual at this time in the early morning, it looks as it was brooding and Hongbin just furrows his brow in confusion, squints at the foreign sight as he sails into the sea.

It is not the first time that a storm would have hit the coast certainly, but Hongbin is wishing that it won’t be a merciless one. He throws his net but has low expectations for all the fish must have got away from the spot he usually fishes at. Gloomy skies stare at him and Hongbin just has a strange feeling in his chest he just can’t shake off.

There is a sudden movement that hits his boat and does nothing to calm his now erratic heart that is fearing for the worst. He feels as if something had hit his vessel, something bigger than the usual type of fish that belong to this area. It seems to calm down for a few seconds and there is a sudden noise that has Hongbin’s eyes widening—a melody, way too different from the one he has been used to hear every single morning, one that while beautiful in itself is haunting. He gulps—this definitely isn’t a good signal.

The tremors become way too powerful and startle him, frighten him to the point he is grabbing the edges of his boat for support, holding onto it for dear life. The air is eerie, dark as if a storm was going to hit the coast right then and there. Hongbin can’t understand why the waves have become so hostile, so aggressive like they were out for blood, and this is when he realizes that if it is blood they want then they probably are going to claim his.

It all becomes a blur when his boat is made turn upside down and he falls into the water, and without warning he feels a spine-chilling sensation that begins embracing him in the water, his net has got tangled in his feet and makes him kick hard to free himself from it as fast as he can. He feels the need to escape because this deep turquoise that mixes with dark grays in front of him is anything but welcoming, is anything but the ocean he had fallen in love with and it is asphyxiating him, almost strangling him. For split second, Hongbin wishes he could be away from the sea.

And then there is the a blood-curling laugh, a sinister air that captures him, a hiss that is bone-chilling and that only makes his attempts to free himself the more quicker, attempts that fail the moment something tugs at his net and brings him further down, traps him as he then feels from behind him a touch snaking its way up his body. So freezing, so frightening and sinister that when he attempts to turn around, he is met with a sight that he has never before seen: a woman, so pale, hair so long it is flowing underwater, eyes that almost shimmer in this near darkness and it would be a mesmerizing sight for she is hauntingly breathtaking, until Hongbin looks down and his reflexes are quicker than him when he sees the woman’s waist turn into scales and then—a tail, dark deep emerald.

_‘A goddamn siren’_ , Hongbin’s minds screams at him, and he knows, from all he has read, he knows he is doomed—especially when the siren opens her mouth so easily, as if it were taunting him and his inability to breathe underwater, taunts him and threatens him with those sharp fangs and a smile that is wicked in every possible way.

Hongbin’s blood chills and all attempts to free himself and somehow escape come to a halt, his body is not responding and he begins choking much to the siren’s pleasure, delight that she makes more evident when with sharp long nails she lunges at him, scratching his shirt open, cutting through his skin. Hands on his throat, harsh grasp that threatens to draw even more blood and maybe call the sharks to feast on him.

It feels like the end is drawing ever near, his sight is becoming fuzzy, the salty water is making its way inside his system and then he is almost blacking out, about to be killed in the sea that had welcomed him for so many years. Yet the rest is a blur—a strong impact comes his way, and there is a faint glimmer of amethyst that he sees shining bright in the obscure water, and a hiss that sends shivers through him coming from that siren.

But through it all, he can hear a faint humming, and his eyes land on something too otherworldly to register, not human enough to make sense of—a beautiful sight before death, Hongbin believes, a complete contrast through the monster he had in front.

“Begone!” is the last thing he hears before all is silence as he feels he is falling deeper and deeper.

.

.

.

It’s freezing, and he is coughing and choking so bad it sends tremors through his ribcage and echoes in the expanses of the bay, makes his body shake on top of the harsh wooden tiles of the deck. He tries to inhale, somehow soothe the pain that has shot through his chest as he grasps one of the edges, sharp wooden planks scraping his palm yet it doesn’t feel as bad as his whole body does from the shocks the jolts made him feel.

It all feels fuzzy, he is unsure as to how he is on the deck now, how he even managed to escape from that utterly foreign experience he went through. Hongbin’s eyes open slowly, taking in the heavy fog, rendering him unable to discern anything, feeling completely alone and weakened. Though hazy as he is, he still tries to recall in between coughs that hurt him and the only image that fills his mind is blurry, blear yet at the same time—otherworldly.

_Unearthly,_ the rumbling of Hongbin’s dazed thoughts repeat endlessly, too _freaking unearthly._ For a world that he was about to part from without anyone knowing what had happened to him—for he felt the ocean was about to swallow him whole with no trace of him to ever be found again—and as weakened as he is, it is still hard to believe something as what he saw exists for real.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he is seeing nothing but sea fog, he could have believed he already wasn’t part of the living, but something brings him back, someone is trying to bring him back before he drifts.

The touch is sudden, humid and soft and warm but cold at the same time, tight grasp of his hand as the only signal that he still hasn’t parted from this world and if that he is—someone was there for him. He feels hands on his shoulders, hastily shaking him yet he can’t for the life of him muster the strength to open his eyes and without any prior warning that could have prepared him for it, it comes unexpectedly and too out of nowhere, such a sudden—

“Hey wake up!” muffled sound of a melodic harmony that resonates through his being, a sound so sublime unlike anything else Hongbin had ever heard in his life. It holds no importance that the tune had tinges of overwhelming concern accompanying it or dread—an extreme fright as it called out to him and strangely, it still felt captivating in every way and if he wasn’t so out of it, on the verge of collapse, his chest heaving and utterly unable to properly breathe well then he would have certainly opened his eyes right away, “Please don’t die on me” it sounds too ethereal, bewitching even-sounds like heaven on earth, too divine to be something from this world.

His consciousness flickers, body too numb to even react before he blacks out to a gasp so loud that is caught in the cold air of dawn and lost into the ocean mist, into the depths from where he was rescued from—profundities that could have been his grave, that could have devoured him entirely.

///

In the stretch of time that he has been out of it—entirely unconscious and inert, unable to feel or hear anything in his surroundings—Hongbin’s temperature had dropped considerably. He was as cold as the breeze from the sea on a cold winter morning, puffs of air barely coming from his lips as he inhaled weakly, his chest heaving slowly yet too weak to be at a regular pace.

There is nothing breaking the almost eerie silence for a long expanse of time, the ocean isn’t enraged anymore and it is so spine-chilling it seems nothing will be able to cut through it and pour life into the atmosphere. But a sound, all too faint and all too lovely, small whimper thrown into the morning air, a whimper so soft painted with traces of overwhelming worry shatters the noiseless atmosphere.

And there is an unexpected groan that soon joins the sobbing and whimpering, “What just—“Hongbin slowly utters, voice hoarse—almost not present at all. He dizzily tries to open his eyes and is met with the sight of mist that is nearly enveloping him. However, his eyes suddenly begin discerning a figure hovering above him as the fog begins to dissipate.

At first it looks foggy, almost indefinite yet of a familiar shape—of human shape. And Hongbin feels some miniscule drops falling on his face coming from above, one after another and the sensation that they produce on his skin begins waking him up little by little— _tears_?

The confusion that strikes him is major, almost too shocked to function properly and comprehend what he is seeing once his eyesight has become clearer. _It is indeed a human shape_ , albeit too captivating to be completely human. He isn’t sure if he is dreaming, but the view that greets him renders him almost speechless.

As the brume vanishes increasingly and all becomes clearer for him he can see the defined features of a visage that seems familiar but at the same time foreign— _that face_ , he certainly has seen it before. The sunlight that begins bathing the shore soon reaches his location and it makes his eyes widen because—

“What are—“

And he is answered with a gasp, hands covering beautiful soft lips and eyes so round, so wide and filled with a mixture of a naivety that could even be considered adorable and a concern that is too present in them _. It’s a man_ , the face of someone who looks his age more or less, of bronze complexion that looks like the sun in morning glory and features that could have even be carved by the gods themselves, hair black like the night sky yet with a shine that evocates the moonlight—and Hongbin lets out a gasp as well in response, though his is more because of having been stunned with a view that is out of this world.

He swear he hears a small whimper coming from the seemingly young man, and before he can say anything, he feels the weight of the strangers’ hands on his shoulder, “Hey—“and he is coming closer, too close, so near that Hongbin can feel his warm breath and see those vivid eyes staring into his from up close, “W-wait” he stutters, way too nervous to comprehend the situation.

Yet a hand falls on his cheek, cupping it softly and Hongbin can’t help but to catch his breath at the touch. The man’s lips are agape slightly, in possible wonderment when he slowly slides his fingers down Hongbin’s neck in a way that makes him shut his eyes tight for some seconds at the sensation.

When his gaze fixes itself again on the man, Hongbin can see that his head is lightly tilted to the side and his lips form an ‘O’ like in realization but without a sound coming from them, “Excuse me—“he wants to say, because the proximity is becoming too much to handle especially after the haze he went through underwater—and it suddenly hits him.

_Underwater_ , he was underwater and he was almost killed in an attempt from a sinister looking creature to end his life, one that only hissed at him and had him captive under the surface with evident murderous intentions. When the figure flashes right in front of his eyes he brings a hand to his mouth as he tries to prevent the frightened yell that is about to leave his lips upon remembrance. It startles the man who above him who is using now his elbows for support.

And this is when Hongbin notices something, the weight he feels from the stranger above him can only be felt until the level of his waist—there is no pressure from any weight from his waist downwards and he finds it strange because he isn’t sure if the youth above him is straddling him or how he is currently even positioned. His eyes begin trailing downwards slowly—there is firm skin which almost looks chiseled yet so delicate and so soft a frame and a slender waist he wasn’t expecting at all and then, something he really was not imagining he would see. Ever.

_Scales_ , or what seems like them beginning his waist in what looks like a shiny amethyst colour that makes him gasp and look up in an utterly puzzled state. Hongbin’s eyes are met with completely panicked ones and it isn’t long before with a push, the man is moving aside and out of Hongbin’s eyesight and before he can react there is a loud splash that promptly soaks Hongbin entirely, “Wait!” he exclaims as he scrambles to sit on his knees, trying to make sense of it all, “Hey come back!” he yells desperately and when he brings a hand to his abdomen he sees different kinds of leaves—no, _seaweed_.

He removes them to see some scratches on it and it is then, right when he is beginning to clamber towards the edge of the deck—even when in pain from moving so suddenly and hastily—that he remembers, he was attacked by a siren out of everything in this world. A goddamn siren whose laugh sounded like shrieks from the bottoms of hell for it was attacking him, hunting him. But then, he just throws a question at the sea, while his eyes are fixed on the now almost aquamarine water, “Mermaid…?”

Hongbin can de dazed, can still be a little out of it, but he is not slow—he _did_ see scales, scales that obviously turn into a glorious tail, into an entrancing fin as all mermaids have. All of that makes the sight he saw coming for him now clearer, the sight of a benevolent and brave being that came to his rescue despite not knowing him—the sight of the mermaid that saved his life.

“Mermaid—please come out, I’m not going to harm you” he says in between coughs, “Yikes, I must have startled him” he says, even if he is the stunned one that is calling out to a mermaid, a being supposed to be just part of myths and nothing but.

Minutes seem longer, they seem slower than they actually are and Hongbin is just too exhausted to even attempt to sit so he just lies down on the wooden planks, hearing the slight crack of them as he shifts to his side, staring at the direction the mermaid left, “I’m not going to harm you…” he whispers and before he knows it, sounds begin to come from the side, splashes of water but not as loud as the prior one.

Hongbin shifts and he is now lying flat on his stomach despite the pain that makes him groan, he scans the vast sea in front of him and sighs. _It must be his imagination_ , he tells himself and when he is about to turn around he suddenly sees hands grasping on the plank right below him and there he is—propelling himself up rapidly and meeting Hongbin’s eyes from a distance way too close that makes Hongbin’s cheeks heat up. The mermaid’s gaze is curious, as though he was asking him, _why?_

They stay there for some minutes, taking each other’s features in and none uttering a word, it’s too magical a moment and Hongbin can’t bring himself to say anything as he waits for the mermaid to talk, but he won’t. Not a single word, not even a sound. Hongbin tilts his head to the right side in wonderment, the mermaid follows suit. Hongbin does the same motion but now left, and the being in front of him copies him, lips curving into a soft satisfied smile.

“Hey there” Hongbin finally manages to greet him and he is rewarded with a nod, “Thank you for saving me” there is another nod, and Hongbin is wondering whether he can understand what he is saying. For all he knows, he isn’t sure if mermaids can speak in any human language because they are anything but and certainly, no myth book could have prepared him for a moment of this kind. He doesn’t know precisely where is safe to begin because the mermaid just stares at him and smiles, seemingly more at ease now and from time to time, trying to gaze down Hongbin’s chest, “Thank you for treating my wounds also” Hongbin says, thinking that the mermaid must be worried about his wounds.

Hongbin changes position and sits down, crossing his legs, hands over his shorts while quickly taking a glance at his now ripped soaked shirt, “That was quite an experience” he says, and the mermaid furrows his brow and he appears upset but in an endearing way, “I’m just glad you saved me, that was frightening” the mermaid’s eyes just look down at the planks, apparently, he does understand what Hongbin is saying, “It’s not your fault—you saved me, okay?”

A soft little pout forms on his lips and Hongbin wants to tell him he is cute, but if it isn’t correct to tell someone something like that when you first meet them—then it is definitely _not_ the right thing to do to call a mermaid you just met ‘cute’. So he settles for a safer thing to say, “My name is Hongbin, Lee Hongbin” the mermaid in front of him mouths his name slowly, as though he was trying to memorize it, “And you are?”

Here, a concerned look on his face, he begins to open his mouth slightly then closes it back quickly. _Looks like a fish but tons of times cuter, too endearing to be a mere fish_ , Hongbin thinks but he can’t call the mermaid who saved his life that—that he looked just like a fish, “And you…?” the mermaid sighs and begins trying to mouth something and Hongbin just utters a puzzled ‘ _Huh_?’ much to the mermaid’s increasing frustration.

He begins looking around as though he was searching for something, anything to show Hongbin but then gives up, finds himself making some figures on the wooden plank as if he was trying to write, “What language is this?” Hongbin asks and the mermaid looks judgingly at him, “I don’t speak mermaid and much less can read it so—“ and then a loud thud, the mermaid just slammed his hand against the plank as answer and Hongbin can’t help but to laugh as he embraces himself to deal with the pain that shoots through him.

“Sorry—but you can understand me right?” a nod, a simple nod, “I wish I knew how to call you though” and a sigh follows, disappointment indeed for the mermaid and for him as well. Hongbin wonders a lot, what name could the mermaid have? It surely must be something special, after all he is a special being, one that saved his life in a flash and—one that could disappear without prior warning just like before.

“Wait” Hongbin says, placing his hands on the wood and leaning closer, “Do you live around here?” soft slow nod, eyes filled with questioning, “Okay—so you won’t just leave, right…?” Hongbin for a while there calls himself stupid, for sounding so eager, for sounding maybe a tiny bit desperate about not losing this company but above all, for not being the least frightened by this mermaid when another one had chosen him as worthy of being her food. And the mermaid just gazes at him, pursing his lips into a tight line as in deep thought.

Perhaps he is being too bold to him and not being guarded enough for a man who was just attacked and nearly devoured but, he can’t deny the fact that this mermaid right here is his savior and he somehow wants to at least give him something in return. Even though he knows—he just knows that whatever he can give probably has no value in comparison to whatever there is underneath the surface, “Please—don’t disappear okay?”

And he stretches out his hand, “Hongbin, being a sailor is my job in the early mornings and my classes schedules are a mess but I do try” he babbles and he sees something akin to confusion in the mermaid’s eyes, “Sorry—I talked too fast, I fish to make money” the reply is a nod so he figures the mermaid understood that part, “I study at nights, every other day” a little less confused, but bewildered nonetheless. Hongbin just sighs.

“I’m just glad we aren’t scared of each other” he suddenly blurts, and he can swear there is a faint shade of pink tinting the mermaid’s cheeks because of his comment, “See you around I guess?” his hand is still stretched out and the creature studies it, scans it curiously and when it seems safe to him, he feels the weight of the mermaid’s hand in his, stretching it tightly, and he feels strangely warm even if he lives underwater, and soft—his skin is soft and so beautiful, almost silky not like the fishes he catches at all.

_But of course, he isn’t entirely a fish_ , Hongbin repeats to himself, he is something out of this world, “Good, we’ll see each other around”

Hongbin really wants to believe this will be true, that he will indeed find his savior again. He sees the mermaid submerging and disappearing in the turquoise bright waters, iridescent lights disappearing deep into it.

And he does hope, truly does want to hold onto the thought that he will find him again, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in a week but at some point.

///

Hongbin arrives at his house, making his best attempt to not make any noise for he knows his brother must still be sleeping and he certainly doesn’t want to explain the scratches on his chest, neither his shirt almost being in shreds and certainly he doesn’t want to begin to inform him why he is soaked from head to toe—despite the sun having helped him dry a little.

He tries to make his steps inaudible and seems to succeed for a few, as he passes by the small hall that leads to the staircase and up to the second floor where his room is. His attempt at being cautious though comes to an end though the moment he is about to enter his room, making a way too loud sound when turning the doorknob and a ‘ _Yikes’_ escapes him. Few seconds later he exhales loudly, _what a way to be cautious_ , Hongbin thinks, “Hongbin-ah?” almost instantly he hears a voice coming from the other end of the hall, sleepy sound that makes it known to him that his brother heard him.

“Go back to sleep Jaehwan” Hongbin says.

“How did catching fish go today?”

Hongbin hesitates before finding a correct answer to give him or if he should come clean about it all—but then Jaehwan would definitely become concerned if he hears his younger brother babbling about being saved by a creature of the sea from a monster from the very dark unknown depths. It would sound illogical, like he knock his head on a rock and had a sudden hallucination as a result. Yet it proves a difficult to find something that sounds plausible and not like a total lie, after all, he did return without any single fish for the day and even took more time than usual, “The weather wasn’t proper for it, hyung, guess fish got scared”

And he knows this may sound dumb but he doesn’t really care, he will make up for it later on, or probably the following morning in the case he does decide to return. _It should be safe, right?_ Hongbin asks himself, _that mermaid who saved him is certainly not going to attack him out of the blue, is he?_ There is no certain way he can know for sure but he seemed safe enough, nice enough to him and not like he was ready to attack the moment he turned around.

Hongbin decides that for sure he will go back and give him something of his as a gift, as a way to say thank you— _thank you for saving my life even though you don’t know me, thank you for staying by my side until I woke up, thank you for not escaping the moment I called out to you_. And because of these thoughts, he wants it to be symbolical, for the item of choice to make the mermaid to remember him in case he was the first human he interacted with. 

Digging through a chest of his he got when he moved to the coast, one that is filled with quite a nice amount of books and stories of fantasy and myths, of unrequited romances and eternal love and all those things Hongbin swears he finds corny yet still finds himself immersing in those worlds, Hongbin manages to find other items that could be worthy of being nice presents. From a bracelet he used to carry with himself under the belief that it would bring him good luck to little shells he would collect on the shore when he was but a small child and other mementos. As he rummages through the bottoms of the chest, trying his best not to break any memory that can be lying asleep there—he finds a silver chain with a heart pendant embedded with a little amethyst, one that he had found on a sunny day by the seashore when he had taken up fishing as an actual job.

‘ _Oh’_ Hongbin lets out, as if sudden realization had told him that _that was it, that’s perfect_. And it was, because Hongbin keeps looking at it like it was the most treasurable thing he could ever give to someone and he really wants for that mermaid to hold it close to him, in his hands, to keep it with him.

He smiles at the thought because after all, he had never thought that he would be gifting a mermaid something in this lifetime.

“Hongbin-ah, what’s with all the noise? You throwing your books around or what?” he is asked, with one knock at his door and then two more following when there is no reply and he is just there, sitting on his bed and trying to muffle his laughter with his hands.

“It’s nothing, hyung” he says. _But it is more than nothing_ , Hongbin just knows this is more than just a mere nothing that covers for a secret he can’t let out as simply as that, a secret that can’t fall from his lips and make itself audible—something that just belongs to only two right now, “It’s nothing”

///

A sudden splash that is way too loud, way too energetic for early morning has the young sailor almost breaking out into cold sweat and it is only when his eyes focus on a familiar face that he is somehow calmer, “Oh heavens—you startled me!” Hongbin exclaims bringing a hand to his chest and this has the mermaid looking at him with inquisitive eyes as the youth is heaving from the surprise. Hongbin’s eyes widen when he sees the mermaid is floating in the water so effortlessly, the young sailor looks back and forth from the sea creature to himself in his small boat and that finally hammers the fact home even more, the being in front of him really is a mermaid. Hongbin can see the way his tail shimmers under the water and it is nothing short of breathtaking, he floats so easily, like nothing will be able to make him drown yet he looks so human from waist up—actually more than human because Hongbin swears no human could look that astonishing after coming out of the water.

The mermaid greets him with a smile yet his gaze soon drifts to something resting half on Hongbin’s boat and half on the water. It is his net and upon closer inspection the mermaid just touches it, grabs it and tilts his head to the side as if asking Hongbin what he is doing with it, “I told you I catch fish every morning so—“and he sees the mermaid nodding his head to himself, index finger then resting on his cheek in pondering.

Hongbin wants to ask him what he is thinking about, but he knows he just can’t for he won’t get an answer that will express completely the thoughts that are running through that man’s—mermaid’s mind. The moment words are about to escape his lips, voice his thoughts and inquiries, he sees the mermaid coming closer to his boat, swiftly grabbing the net with both hands, “What are you doing?” Hongbin asks slightly startled, but the only answer is a smirk before the mermaid has full hold of the net and dives into the sea with it and away from Hongbin’s sight, “W-wait!”

Hongbin isn’t sure if he is being playful for he can’t quite tell how mermaids behave or if this one particular mermaid is pulling a prank on him—or if he was mad that he is fishing in the area he lives at. What ifs and whys come and go rapidly in his mind and then he finds himself leaning forward, hands at the edge of his boat as he calls out to the sea, “Mermaid come back! I don’t have another net!”

The youth sighs, he is not mad but actually worried that he may probably have given the wrong impression and that the mermaid could have thought that the reason for his visit was to hold him captive when that is the farthest thing from the truth. When the only reason for Hongbin to be here, other than his job, is because he came to give him a present.

He waits for minutes that seem like hours, way too eager to see the mermaid again and way too worried about the fate of his net, which he prays hasn’t been torn apart underwater. The sun is starting to become brighter the more minutes pass by and Hongbin just finds himself taking in the sight and hearing the sound of the birds chirping in the distance. He lets the breeze caress his face as if the sea was being an adoring entity to him in these minutes giving him something so pure and magical, “Mermaid…?” he throws the question out in the air, hoping that it resonates at the bottom of the sea even if it was pronounced as nothing but a soft whisper.

It all passes too rapidly for him to register, but he feels his boat shaking out of the blue and Hongbin becomes slightly frightened, “Mermaid! Please come back if you can” he begins fearing the worst, he begins fearing for his life as flashbacks from the day before all tinted in deep turquoise flash right before his eyes and he just hopes, prays to the heavens above that it isn’t the ominous siren that had attacked him, nor a shark either and overall—he just wishes terribly that he won’t fall out of his boat with all the unexpected trembling.

However, his surprise is grand when out of the sea emerges that bright smile and those lively and striking eyes are looking directly into his own soft caramel ones, “Oh god, where have you—“he is saying, but then he sees the mermaid struggling to get something out of the sea, something that is visibly shaking and forming ripples around the mermaid, he hears a small whine coming from the lips of the hypnotizing sea creature, “Wait, did you just--?” Hongbin begins but when he notices how much the mermaid keeps on fighting with something that looks very alive, he leans forward and grabs what is causing this ruckus—it is his net, filled with quite a big amount of fish that leaves Hongbin stunned.

He pulls the net closer to him until he manages to get the whole catch on his boat, Hongbin rests, heaving from the sudden physical effort before he finds himself looking at the mermaid who is grasping the edges of his boat, his slender fingers carefully tracing the insides of his vessel “Thank you—I didn’t expect you would fish for me” he smiles and the mermaid leans forward, glancing at his abdomen with concern and then into Hongbin’s eyes, “I treated my wounds, thank you so much”, Hongbin feels that even through this little signs, he can actually understand the mermaid really well even if not entirely, _he can communicate_ —and that is more than enough for now.

They both go back to the shore and Hongbin leaves the huge present in fish form that the mermaid gave him in his boat as the mermaid is swimming by the deck, “Hey don’t leave just yet!” he calls out, quick strides taking him towards the wooden structure, his steps making the planks creak until he reaches the very end of it and crouches to be able to be closer to the mermaid, to see his face clearly from as close as he can get, “I brought you something”

The mermaid stares at him as he begins rummaging through his short’s pockets in a haste, as if time was too limited, as if the mermaid was going to disappear the moment he blinked and it would be gone into the sea and away from Hongbin’s sight, “Look” Hongbin finds the chain he had picked out from his belongings as the perfect present, he has it in his palm as it is stretched out, “This is for you” he says.

He gets a puzzled look as the mermaid comes closer to his hand and looks from the piece of jewelry to Hongbin back and forth for a few seconds before he is pointing to himself, finger right in the middle of his chest, “Yes, for you” the mermaid’s lips are slightly parted in what looks like utter astonishment, genuine surprise. He comes forward, lifting his hands slowly and enclosing Hongbin’s hand, softly caressing it with a smile, “You accept it?” a nod and a breathtaking smile that certainly makes Hongbin’s breathing stop for a while due to the beauty and sincerity it has.

He wants to tell him something, _anything_ , but just before the mermaid takes the chain in his hands and officially accepts Hongbin’s gift, he closes the distance between him and the youth’s hand leaning forward much to the startled sailor’s surprise, he is coming close to his hand, so close that his lips are now touching the pendant and lightly brushing against Hongbin’s palm that he can feel his breathing, “You…really liked it, right?” the mermaid takes hold of the chain and holds it close to him, to his chest, to his heart and Hongbin can’t help but to find himself smiling genuinely at the precious being in front of him.

“You are welcome” Hongbin says, “Thank you and you are really welcome” Hongbin wishes he could hug the mermaid to express just how thankful he feels for this moment. Not only had he saved his life, stayed there until making sure that he was not dead and ripped in pieces, waited for him until Hongbin had recovered but he had also fished for him, willingly aided him in his job and hunted from his home for him. And most important of all, he had accepted something from Hongbin, treated it as a treasure and as though he hadn’t seen something so beautiful before.

“I am glad you accepted it” Hongbin tells him, and he hopes it is not too bold of him yet he finds himself kneeling down and inclining forward with his hand stretched until it touches the mermaid’s cheek. And he notices just how wide the mermaid’s eyes become upon that touch, “Thank you” he says again, and the look he gets is piercing, a gaze he hadn’t ever seen before but that spoke louder than thousands of words anyone could have ever told him. A gaze that exclaimed ‘thank you’ without the need for words, only needing but a touch on his hand to get the point across, “You are welcome” Hongbin says as the mermaid nuzzles his hand.

The youth smiles and he swears he hasn’t ever smiled this brightly before, not ever since finding that pendant that he felt was a gift from the sea itself, “Will I see you again?”

The best answer in Hongbin’s mind now are the nods the mermaid gives him, the smiles so bright it can rival the sun. The best reply Hongbin gets is a promise to meet once more.

///

It doesn’t quite become a routine, because at times the word ‘routine’ can hold a negative connotation and this is anything but. It becomes a constant in the span of a few days that turn into weeks and then to almost two months since that fated day. Yet he finds himself coming back every day with the same eagerness, sailing into the sea like he was slowly but surely beginning to become a part of it. It is the way the dawn meets him every morning with an air of happiness that he can sense all over his being, it is the way that the mist embraces him and makes him feel like he is floating in the middle of nowhere and the way the sun seems brighter than ever before, and the sea seems clearer and more breathtaking than ever that has Hongbin dying to return.

And it is that mermaid— _that mermaid_ who seems to have become friends with him, he is the one that makes it all the more enjoyable. The one that makes sailing and fishing for Hongbin more lovely and that makes the ocean the place Hongbin can’t part of. Even if he does have to part from there at least for some time, for his classes, for his daily life since he can’t just stay there all day as much as he wants to.

“So, I have exams this week” he suddenly says as he is resting on top of the wooden deck after him and his sea friend have fished for the day, and the moment he says so, the mermaid propels himself up using both hands and looks at him from above, a frown on his face that Hongbin is seeing from up close, “Please don’t get mad, it will be just a few days” he sees his friend glancing over at the boat with the catch of the day and hears a little whine escaping the mermaid’s throat, “Yeah I know I have to fish but—I do have classes to go to”

Then there is loud thud on the wooden surface that vibrates in Hongbin’s ears, “Hey, come on!” Hongbin changes his position and sits down, crossing both of his legs and staring into the mermaid’s eyes as if he was going to begin telling him off, “I will be back, I’m not going to disappear” and it is when he says the word ‘disappear’ the moment all alarms seem to go off because the mermaid is lunging at him, making Hongbin’s body fall fully on the deck’s surface as he is letting out a loud ‘Hey!’ but the mermaid is embracing him tightly, resting his head on Hongbin’s pristine white shirt, eyes shut tightly as his grip on Hongbin’s torso tightens.

Hongbin doesn’t know how to react to this. For one, he just can’t push him aside because he fears he could hurt the mermaid’s tail and he certainly doesn’t want to cause any harm to his friend. And secondly, he feels strangely at ease, his chest heaving a steady pace that certainly doesn’t reflect his uneven heartbeats, “What is this about?” he says, but wraps his arms around the back of the mermaid in a comforting manner, “I’m not going to disappear” and when he says that word again, he hears little muffled sounds vibrating against his chest, “Please no, don’t cry—I will be back, okay?”

The mermaid lifts himself up with both hands to take some weight away from Hongbin—despite the fact that his tail weighs a lot and Hongbin is beginning to feel his legs slightly numb—he stares at the young man below him and sighs, Hongbin isn’t quite sure how to comfort him, lacks of the precise words to say so he just resorts to patting the mermaid’s head, “We will be together soon, it will be just 7 days”

He gets the most adorable pout as answer, accompanied by a sudden rolling that sends them both into the sea, “Hey!” Hongbin exclaims once he is out and floating, shaking his head and splashing water at the mermaid playfully, “You think you are funny, aren’t you?”

They stay there, throwing water at one another as their lips curve into smiles, as the mermaid seems to enjoy it when Hongbin laughs out loud, “You are very fun” Hongbin says while his friend swims around him. This is magical, Hongbin says to himself, to have a mermaid swimming so calmly around you and to be this close to a being like this—and he realizes in between everything that, he really doesn’t want to let go of this not even for a day, “Hey I have an idea”

The mermaid stops circling around him, submerges just to show up right in front of Hongbin a few seconds later, “Well, we can meet at night, after my exams if you would like” Hongbin hopes that this doesn’t sound too bad of an idea to the mermaid but the bright smile that shows in his lips reassures him that this could work out, “Want us to meet at night? I can be here at around eight” he says, but he isn’t sure if the mermaid can keep track of time the same way he can—yet to Hongbin it is enough to be met with such happiness that those thoughts are tossed aside rapidly.

**Author's Note:**

> If you read until here, thank you so much. I am unsure exactly when I'm going to go back to remix this work since again it is an abridged version of what I had in mind. But still I hope you enjoyed reading through it ^^
> 
> If it's interesting enough I will try to get back to it sooner than expected ^^♡ thank you again!


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